Venus is the second planet from the
Sun, orbiting it
every 224.7 Earth
days. The planet is named after Venus, the
Romangoddess
of love and beauty. After the Moon,
it is the brightest natural object in the night sky,
reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to
cast shadows. Because Venus is an
inferior planet from Earth, it never appears to
venture far from the Sun: its
elongation reaches a maximum of 47.8°.
Venus reaches its maximum brightness shortly before sunrise or shortly after
sunset, for which reason it has been known as the Morning Star or Evening Star.